A Continuing Case of Wanderlust

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For the Treatment of Wanderlust

I suffer from a chronic case of wanderlust. I am forever dreaming of the places I want to travel to, and I have a near-constant desire to pack up and go anywhere. This love of travel makes it unnecessarily difficult to fall in love with one place, with a few exceptions. I find myself daydreaming of places I’ve never been, thinking of all the adventures I could be having anywhere else in the world that aren’t where I am now.

For me, the solution to wanderlust involves either travelling in some manner or distracting myself from my desire to travel. Both solutions end up tying into each other, but here are some ways that I deal with my wanderlust.

For the Treatment of Wanderlust

Explore local attractions. When was the last time you wandered around your town and had adventures? Have you been to all the touristy places? The places off the beaten path? Maybe try a new restaurant or go to a festival or something like that. Go to the cool local places like shops and galleries or museums.

Check out the travel section at the library. There are lots of blogs and books that talk about travel or travel experiences. It’s fun to read stories about someone else’s adventures and although it won’t cure your wanderlust, it will help you imagine you are elsewhere in the world. (You just have to use your imagination.)

Make something inspired by your travels. This doesn’t necessarily mean travels you have already had! Try making a playlist of songs that remind you of a certain place or experience, or making a photo album/collage of places you have been or want to go. Reliving some of those experiences can be a bit nostalgia-heavy, but at the same time, you may feel as though you are travelling again!

Travel via the internet. Back to the travel blogs with you! Have you checked out travel pictures on Flickr? Tourism websites with virtual tours? Google Earth? Learning or reading about a new place, or seeing images of an interesting place to try to experience it in a different way is one fairly easy way of travelling without even leaving your room!

Cook a meal inspired by a different culture. Try to cook a meal (maybe even from scratch!) inspired by a different culture or country! When is the last time you tried to make sauerkraut from scratch? Sushi?

Start planning a trip. Dig in for some research and start planning a trip. Even if you can’t afford it, it’s fun to think about how you could go somewhere you really want to go. How much would it cost for plane tickets? Lodging? What major attractions would you want to see? Figuring this out when you are suffering from wanderlust can help make it feel better– at least you are planning for a trip, even if you aren’t going yet!